Sunday, November 29, 2015

This morning I went to Bowtie Movieland to see Holiday Inn (1942) for their Movies
& Mimosas classic film. How can you beat being able to swoon over Bing
Crosby and $2 mimosas!?!

Holiday
Inn
is one of my favorite movies because it includes Christmas and Bing Crosby! I’m
not too picky about holiday movies. I fill my DVR with nearly every Christmas
movie that I can find because I love-love-love Christmas movies… from the
classics to the modern Hallmark channel movies (and the more ridiculous, the
better!)

Holiday
Inn
isn’t often considered a “classic” Christmas movie partly because it really isn’t
a “Christmas” movie although it does feature Bing Crosby singing “White
Christmas” twice; but, more importantly than that, it isn’t often a classic because
of the now controversial “Abraham” scene.

A quick synopsis of the movie is that Bing Crosby’s
character and a girl are in love and off to get married and live on a farm
leaving showbiz behind. Fred Astaire’s character pretty much steals the girl
and Crosby is left to head to the farm alone. Farm life isn’t what he thought
it would be so Crosby has the idea to open up an inn but only on the holidays…hence
Holiday Inn! And if you’ve ever stayed at one of the Holiday Inn motels, they
got their name from this film… but they don’t look anything like the quaint farm
house that doesn’t seem like it would have any bedrooms for anyone to actually
stay. That isn’t the point; Crosby puts on big performances during the holidays.When the girl who left Crosby for Astaire
also leaves Astaire for a rich millionaire, a drunken Astaire arrives at the
inn hoping Crosby will be able to lift his spirits. You know where this is
going… Crosby has a new girl and well, Astaire pretty much steals her too. But
before that happens, Crosby tries to hide his new girl… by using blackface.

This was 1942 and mid-WWII. This was pre-Civil
Rights movement in the US and white Americans were racist then as some are
racist now. Using blackface was actually a plot point to hide characters but
the racist undertones (and overtones?) are pretty clear. It wasn’t until the
1980s that broadcasts of the film omitted the entire scene which if you can
imagine caused a great deal of confusion for movie watchers since a major plot point
was omitted. AMC even cut the “Abraham” musical number because it became so
controversial. So if you’ve never seen the film via DVD, in the theater, or on
Turner Classic Movies which doesn’t cut or edit any films, you might be a bit
startled as the two ladies who sat behind me in the movies today were when the
entire sequence includes nearly every white character in black face and the
black characters who are off in the kitchen singing but not performing with the
white characters because it was the time of segregation. Is it uncomfortable
for movie-goers in 2015? I think so. Aside from blackface being used, the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred halfway through filming. Because of
this, the Independence Day musical was expanded beyond Fred Astaire's
firecracker dance to include the patriotic number that highlights the U.S.
military. Many have seen this as a WWII propaganda film, which includes only
white men even though black men fought in the war.

I don’t think the film is for everyone and I’m
certainly not pushing anyone to watch it. It’s another part of our nation that
is complicated and complex. Unlike the women who sat behind me, I wasn’t
appalled that the theater decided to include this portion of the film. Even if
they had cut the scenes, the film is still pretty much laced with the
sentiments of that time.

I did a little research and discovered that Louise
Beavers, the actress who played Crosby’s maid, performed in dozens of films from
the 1920s to1960. If you look at her wikipedia page you will see from the mere list alone that she was a *working* actress although she was most commonly cast in the role of a maid, servant, or
slave.

As Beavers became more well-known as an actress, she spoke out against
Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of Black Americans. She became active and
outspoken in her support of the Civil Rights movement. It seems that sometimes one must be in the system to fight the injustice.

Beavers was inducted
into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame two years after it was founded.

Cut or uncut, viewing older films and even reading
books or listening to music from various times makes for a complicated history
lesson. I try to respect that when engaging with such things.

And
while I'm certainly not trying to make light of the film's controversy
or America's past (and sometimes present) struggles with racial
difference, for me this film was the first holiday film released by the theater where I kick off my Christmasing movie-going.

Next up, White Christmas with Bing Crosby and later It's a Wonderful Life. And well, Krampus comes out next week so there's that too.

Speaking of, I pretty much have my outfit put together for Krampusnacht and here is my holiday sweater (it's really a t-shirt.. Thanks Disney!) for the office party.

Friday, November 27, 2015

When you read “Black Friday” you most likely think
of shopping. If you do, you can thank the retailer in the 1980s who
successfully transformed a very negative phrase into the positive discount shopping
day. You may have heard that Black Friday references the “in the black” that
retailers used in their old ledgers… in the black meaning that they were making
a profit and in the red meant that they were losing money. I even remember
learning about checking in middle school and being told to use red ink if you
ever overdraft your checking account. I remember my parents correcting my
teacher by instructing to never ever do this. If you don’t have the cash, don’t
write the check… but I digress.

The first recorded “Black Friday” comes from 1869 after
the American Civil war during the Reconstruction era. The U.S. gold market
crashed. James Fisk and Jay Gould planned to profit from buying up all of the
U.S. gold and basically hoarding it to drive up the prices. It worked for a
while until President Ulysses S. Grant released the reserves flooding the
market with gold. Prices dropped within minutes with thousands left financially
ruined, and one even committing suicide. Come on! We’re seen It’s a Wonderful Life; we know that
financial ruin can be awesome if Clarence isn’t around. Wheat and corn harvests
also decreased in value by 50%, and the entire U.S. economy for years.

Nearly a century later, “Black Friday” was a term
that related to the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, PA. “Black Friday”
was used by police officers to describe the chaos from tourists visiting the
city before the big game.

It took decades after this to spin a chaotic event
into an in the profit/ in the black
kind of day.

I normally don’t go out shopping on Black Friday anymore.
Without little children who require big ticket items or designer toys, I don't worry much about major savings. I do go to the mall, just as I often do right before Christmas, because I love watching the madness especially when I do not need a thing. Two years ago, I spontaneously got engaged by looking at jewelry on Black Friday with my fella *giggles*. So, Black Friday is another one of our anniversaries :D

This morning with my fella as his mom's nursing her back to health for the last few days, I have been on my own. I miss him but it's been a full semester since I've actually been alone in my house... or alone for a few days! I've had a great day. I went to get a haircut and then
headed to my folks’ to have my car oil changed. While this might
sound weird, oil changing days are major father-daughter bonding times for me. It's where we share stories and come up with car problem-solving solutions. I wouldn't change these times for anything. After
that, I went to two graveyards from my youth that I’ll post about later this
week, and then I went to the ABC store (Virginia
Department of Alcohol Beverage Control… e.g. you can’t buy alcohol anywhere
else in this state) which does have a Black Friday sale. So now I’m having a
peppermint chocolate martini (apparently the drink of the season for me!) while
I write this. Umm, excuse any tipsy typos :D

Thursday, November 26, 2015

The Art Institute of Chicago was fortunate enough to have Van Gogh’s The Christmas Prayer, 1882 on loan to the museum starting in 2013, and I was fortunate to be able to see it in person. Again, this was another lucky fine that included a great deal of good timing! It seems that my Chicago trip really set the mood for Christmas this year. I'm terrible at Advent. The art of patience and waiting? Yeah, that's not really me.

I think this works well during this week of Thanksgiving. In many ways, being grateful for what one has is a prayer in itself.

The piece also reminds me of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I can't help but think of reading Christmas stories this time of year and I love a good Christmas ghost story! I have a tradition of reading Christmas books this time of year. Last year I picked up The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. One section includes "A Scary Little Christmas". Because it is filled with stories and it's 650 pages, I didn't finish reading it last year. I can't binge read short stories or they all start to become one odd story.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Here is another piece from the Art Institute of
Chicago that moved me. The artist is Doris Lee and the piece is called Thanksgiving, c. 1935. Lee is known as
one of the most successful female artists of the Depression era in the United
States.

Thanksgiving was exhibited in 1933 at the Art
Institute of Chicago and won the Logan Medal. Interestingly enough, the
painting was not approved by one of the trustees, Josephine Hancock Logan who
referred to the piece as “atrocious” and “trash”.

It wasn’t the theme that was included but how it was
depicted as something common and ordinary. I didn't find it ordinary at all; I was drawn to the painting. I think
something about it reminds me of my grandmother, and of course that then makes
me think of my family altogether.

Thanksgiving is complicated. I know what we mean to
celebrate but with it comes this unpleasant, well that’s an understatement,
history that is as complex and complicated as our country. To me, thanksgiving
has always been about family and eating. In fact, sitting around the dinner table is
one of my images of family. Growing up we always had a family meal, a supper.
The television was turned off, books put away, and if the phone rang we ignored
it. Dinner time was about family, the four of us- my mom and dad, my brother
and me.

My brother loves Thanksgiving. It’s his favorite
holiday. He isn’t religious or spiritual but he keeps the holiday and its food
sacred. He wants his stuffing to be a little dry; he prefers corn pudding to regular
corn; and, in no way does he like change. Yet, he changed everything about five
years ago when he moved to Florida. He has never looked back; he absolutely loves
living there. And, because of his work schedule, he has only been home a half
dozen times and never on the holidays. Most people think of a lack of mother or
father as that which upsets the celebration of Thanksgiving. I think of my
brother who now, happily, orders a Boston’s Market dinner and eats alone. I’m
appalled, shocked! Thanksgiving is about family. Nope, he responds;
Thanksgiving is about the food.

This will be my second Thanksgiving with my fella as my husband. It took me a long time to get things right when it comes to
relationships so holidays seem extra special now.

When my fella asked if it
would be okay to relieve his sister who has been the constant caregiver to
their mother since she came home from the hospital,what in the world was I supposed to say?!? Of
course!

Then I remembered how my brother doesn’t like change and how I actually
don’t like change either. I want my family to be together but that isn’t
possible this year; so tomorrow I’m going to surprise my fella with
Thanksgiving! When he comes home from work, he’ll be greeted with a full
Thanksgiving spread.

Instead of simply placing his Thanksgiving meal in a Tupperware
container for him to tote off to his mother’s house, I will spent Thanksgiving
with him today… because Thanksgiving to me is about family. The dates are
insignificant.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

I’m
quite drawn to art that is layered and that is three dimensional. I love
collage and texture. I’m always drawn to items in boxes. I’m drawn to
details.

A crèche is a model or tableau representing the
scene of Christ's birth. It's a common display this time of year. Since I'm Catholic, I think it's also a common display to have in homes. Over a decade ago, I gave my mom an elaborate Nativity that was displayed like a candelabra. I thought that was fancy... I had no idea. It completely makes sense that I would gasp when I walked in to see
this crèche. I don't think you can tell exactly how large it is from the pictures. An entire gallery was dedicated to this and it completely took up most of the room. At the bottom of the first picture, you can see a shadow. That's a boy's head.

The Nativity displays have roots in fourth-century and
by the 13th and 14th centuries they were a feature of Neapolitan churches. In 18th
century, they underwent a transformation from relatively simple scenes to
dramatic creations. At this point, the traditional parts of the Nativity began
to include the everyday aspects of live from shop activities to even tavern
scenes.

Churches weren’t the only places where one could see
these types of crèches. Many wealthy citizens commissioned this type of work to
display in their own homes.

Last year The Art Institute of Chicago unveiled a
mid-18th-century Neapolitan crèche just in time for the holiday season. Because of the fragility of the original silk
costumes and embroidery, the Neapolitan crèche is only on view for a few weeks
every year. We were fortunate enough to see it this year completely by
accident.

The crèche is an intricate nativity which features
over 200 figures all presented in a Baroque cabinet with a painted backdrop. Considered
one of the finest examples of its kind outside of Naples, this piece is a
beautiful addition to the museum especially during the holidays.

Here is a somewhat blurry picture of my own recycled bottle nativity. My fella tucked Dracula in there a few years ago to be funny. I especially loved this because hiding an odd out-of-place figurine in the Nativity was always something that my dad did.